Depression

October is an active month for promoting public awareness of psychiatric illnesses and social programs that give hope to those affected by mental illness.

Half of all mental health disorders occur by age 14. Early interventions may mitigate progression to more serious and persistent mental health concerns.

Older Latinos with depression report higher levels of impairment and are more persistently ill than non-Hispanic white older adults, yet they have lower rates of guideline-concordant treatment. Cognitive and problem-solving psychosocial modalities are emerging as key treatment considerations for older Latinos.

Is depression a systemic disorder of oneself and the brain’s intrinsic activity?

For many patients with depression, full symptom remission remains elusive despite multiple trials of antidepressants. This article focuses on psychopharmacological and related interventions.

The diagnosis and management of unipolar depression remain challenging. The articles in this Special Report remind us of the wide knowledge base that is needed in the management of the depressed patient and of the multiple conceptual levels that must be integrated in the care of our patients.

What is the relationship between common illnesses and depression? And why is the relationship so strong? What can clinicians do now to manage both the medical illness and the depression?

Therapeutic farms that offer psychotherapy and psychopharmacology give patients an opportunity to learn about themselves.

Elder abuse is a concern for all practitioners who care for elderly patients. Here, quick reference to identify suspected elder abuse.

A recent meta-analysis supports evidence of the effectiveness of the fixed olanzapine/fluoxetine combination (Symbyax) in treating the depressive phase of bipolar disorder. Response was ranked higher, but with no more adverse effects, than with treatment with olanzapine alone.

Former President of the American Psychiatric Association, Nada Stotland, MD, MS, speaks here about abortion-a subject that is especially important for psychiatrists in several ways.

Clinicians can feel confident in the evidence base when referring patients with a moderate level of treatment resistance for rTMS. Preliminary results suggest that deep rTMS may be an effective option in patients who have failed to respond to more than one antidepressant treatment.

Certain aspects of depression result from maladaptive stress-induced changes in reward circuits of the brain.

While it is true that the intense grief of bereavement and major depressive disorder often share some features-for example, tearfulness, insomnia, low mood, and decreased appetite-there are many substantive differences.

With ECT‚ the response rate for treatment-refractory patients is sobering‚ and the treatment is not without risks and adverse effects.

The ethical aim of psychiatry is the relief of suffering and incapacity.

Discussing the Neuropsychiatric Outcomes After Heart Surgery study, testing the vascular hypothesis of post-coronary artery bypass graft depression.

Lamotrigine is an important option in bipolar disorders. However, many clinicians also use it in patients with a (unipolar) depressive disorder who have not responded adequately to conventional antidepressants.

This book draws together the entire spectrum of the relevant psychosocial dimensions and data necessary to adequately assist in the evaluation and treatment of patients who may be candidates for bariatric surgery.

The extent to which antidepressant use during pregnancy is associated with increased risks of postnatal adaptation syndrome, persistent pulmonary hypertension in the newborn, first-trimester teratogenicity, stillbirth, and infant mortality is explored in 2 recent studies. A close up look here. . .

Psychological symptoms of depression in patients with diabetes are more specific to depression than their somatic counterparts.

Concerns are raised about DSM-5 revisions in the definition of depression. Many worry that eliminating the bereavement exception in the guidelines for the diagnosis of major depressive disorder represents a dangerous move.

Major depression is a common chronic illness within the general US population. What is the approximate prevalence for MDD in the US population?

Can methylfolate play a role in the adjunctive treatment of patients with major depression? In this podcast, Rakesh Jain, MD, offers insights.

Mindfulness training is a viable treatment tool that rivals psychopharmaceutical agents for the treatment of addiction, anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders.